San Francisco 49ers Week 11

By Kalen Patrick

I'm running out of ideas how to open up my weekly recap without repeating myself too often, however, yet again, the 49ers Win! Another very strong convincing performance by the San Francisco 49ers as they dismantled the visiting Arizona Cardinals 23-7.

MICHAEL CRABTREE HAD A BIG DAY WITH 7 CATCHES FOR 120 YARDS

As usual the 49ers defense didn't allow the opposition to do much of anything, the Cardinals only had 2 first downs and less than 60 yards in the entire first half. Meanwhile the 49ers failed to capitalize on opportunities yet still had a 9-0 lead at the half. In the 3rd quarter is where it all went wrong for Arizona. The 49ers opened the 2nd half with a very very long drive that ended in an Alex Smith TD pass to the emerging Kyle Williams. Just on cue the 49ers (Donte Whitner) then picked off John Skelton, which then led to another Alex Smith TD pass but this time to TE Vernon Davis. Davis has now passed Brent Jones on the franchise list for most TD's by a TE for the 49ers.

That put the game at 23-0 entering the 4th quarter and it was pedestrian from there on out. The 49ers got conservative and ate up the clock. The Cardinals did have a TD, but proved to be nothing more than a consolation prize.

AT WHAT POINT WILL THE NFL BELIEVE IN ALEX SMITH AS A GOOD QB?

Alex Smith had himself another very solid game going 20/38 for 267 Yards with 2 TD's and 1 INT. By QB Rating it was Smith's worst game of the year, but it was more than enough to beat the very weak Arizona Cardinals. Michael Crabtree had a breakout game with 7 Catches for 120 yards. Credit needs to go to the Offensive Line, no Sacks given up and they paved the way for over 160 rushing yards.

As for the defense? Well what can you say? Dominating performace, only giving up a meaningless garbage time TD. 2 Sacks, 3 INT's. What more is there to say? Aldon Smith is continuing his impressive rookie year adding another sack, to make his total 7.5 on the year. Willis had another great game, led the team in tackles and had 3 passes defensed and an INT.

SMOTHERING 49ERS SPECIAL TEAMS

Looking forward the 49ers have a short week, traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Thanksgiving which will be labeled the 'Harbowl', as brothers Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh will face off. The 49ers have already had great success on the road, especially on the East Coast. This match up will truly be an exciting one. Honestly have no idea which way it will go. In the words of Bart Scott, "CAN'T WAIT"

49ers Stats
Alex Smith - 1976 YDS, 13 TD's, 4 INT's, QB Rating 93.9
Frank Gore - 870 YDS, 4.6 AVG, 5 TD's
Vernon Davis - 39 REC, 446 YDS, 5 TD's

Navorro Bowman - 95 Tackles
Carlos Rogers - 5 INT's
Aldon Smith - 7.5 Sacks

Top 5 NFC West Must Haves in Fantasy Football

By Kalen Patrick

The NFC West isn't exactly a goldmine for Fantasy Football talent, but there will be some players who will have big impacts on your teams this year. I want to take a look at who are the 5 players from this division that should be on your radar as you prepare your fantasy football teams this season.

1.  Larry Fitzgerald WR Cardinals - Fitzgerald is the one and only Cardinal who should absolutely be a starter on your team. Think about this, last season Larry Fitzgerald had a QB combination of Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton throwing to him. That in my books is one of the worst QB situations I have ever seen. What were Larry's stats last year? 90 catches for 1137 yards and 6 TD's. While Kevin Kolb is still somewhat of a mystery, he will be better than those QB's and expect another big year from Fitzgerald.

VERNON DAVIS TE 49ERS

2. Vernon Davis TE 49ers - There are many reasons why Vernon Davis is a must have in Fantasy Football this year. Antonio Gates still has lingering issues with his foot, Peyton Mannings status still seems up in the air which effects Dallas Clark. That leaves fewer TE's you can depend on. Vernon is one guy you can depend on however, he has a great connection with QB Alex Smith and the 49ers offense under Jim Harbaugh will likely lean heavily on the Tight Ends. Expect another big year for Vernon, and with other TE's value in question, Vernon is a must have.

3. Steven Jackson RB Rams - Jackson is the most reliable RB from this division, he has played 31 of 32 games the last 2 years and has gone over 1000 rushing yards every year since 2004 (rookie year). While last year he had a career low in YPR (yards per rush), he is still the one RB in this division you can absolutely depend on to get you production. And with the Rams and young Sam Bradford moving to a new offensive system, expect the Rams to lean heavily on him.

4. Frank Gore RB 49ers - If you are in a PPR league, then Frank Gore is a must have. With his injuries it will drop his draft status and allow you to get him later than normal. However, Gore has always been the focal point of the offense, and he is excellent at receiving too. He will be excellent in PPR and a great addition to any of your teams. Don't make him your feature back but having him would be a wise move. There will be weeks where he will carry your team. Expect multiple 100+ yard rushing and 50+ yard receiving with a TD or 2 thrown in. Again Gore is no longer a feature back, but he is an excellent #2 RB for your team.

5. Sidney Rice WR Seahawks - Sidney Rice has all the talent in the world, and will be reunited with Tavaris Jackson in Seattle. While Tavaris is hardly the ideal QB to have throwing to your WR, he does have a connection with Rice and so you can expect very solid numbers. Rice is made for red zone opportunities, so while his yards may not be too high, I would expect his TD's numbers to be high. Normally in this division a guy like Rice would be higher, but there are question marks surrounding him and his situation. Rice should not be your #1 option at WR, but is a solid #2.

SIDNEY RICE WR SEAHAWKS 

Longshot Option: Danny Amendola WR Rams - If you play in a PPR league he could be a huge surprise addition for your team. He had 85 catches last year, and will now be in a Josh McDaniels offense. Expect a possible Wes Welker part 2 type of season. While he did come on to the scene last year, he will still be invaluable to the Rams in short pass yardage situations. Could turn out to be a great guy to have even at the bottom of your FF roster.

That about sums up my thoughts on the NFC West. You should avoid at all costs having an NFC West QB be a starter on your team. Sam Bradford and possibly Kevin Kolb will make solid backups for your team. The defenses to keep an eye on are the 49ers and possibly Rams.

Best Free Agency Moves

By Kalen Patrick

Well the NFL is back in full swing, Training Camps all over the country are open, and of course there have been the usual flurry of action in Free Agency. Millions of Dollars have been thrown around and now it's time to judge the decisions of the various GM's around the NFL. Of course we won't know how all of these contracts will turn out until we see the production on the field. But it sure is fun to speculate, right?

The team I have to grade the highest so far this offseason is the Eagles. Without a doubt the best move in my opinion far and away was Nnamdi Asomugha to the Eagles. This is a guy who despite being stranded in obscurity in Oakland for years, was still recognized as arguably the best CB in all of Football. I gotta give the Eagles an A+ for their offseason. They undoubtedly have the best secondary in Football as it stands right now. For Kevin Kolb (an average backup QB) they received a quality CB in Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, in addition to a 2nd round pick from the Arizona Cardinals. So you add DRC, then you sign only the best CB in the game in Asomugha for a very reasonable price. 

Furthermore, you already have Asante Samuel, who you can now trade to the highest bidder. A team like the 49ers could very well use his services, and would likely get the Eagles another 2nd round pick. Other notable additions are Jason Babin who had a monster 2010 season (12.5 sacks), Vince Young (30-16 as a starter) and draft picks Danny Watkins (OG) and Jaiquawn Jarrett (S).

Think about this for a second. The Eagles have managed to drastically improve the secondary, Vick's backup was the average Kolb (Career QB rating of 73.2) and now the proven winner in VY, and bolster the lines with Babin and Watkins, in addtion to possibly acquiring an extra 2 2nd rounders for next years draft. Stroke of genius if you ask me, and now Philly are primed for a very deep run in the playoffs.

The next team is another usual suspect. Gotta go with the New England Patriots. For the small small price of 5th round and 2 6th round picks, the Patriots have managed to acquire Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ocho Cinco. Of course both of these guys have many question marks and issues, but lets be honest, if anyone can get these guys on track, its Bill Belichek and the Patriots. They turned Randy Moss from a lost cause to the best receiver in Football. For the small price, if they can get these guys playing at anywhere near what we know they can, then these might be the biggest steals this year.

Other teams and moves I briefly wanna touch on include: Reggie Bush traded to the Miami Dolphins, I actually love this move. While Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams put up solid numbers, the Dolphins have been lacking a big play threat, something that Reggie specializes in. I look for Bush to have a big impact in Miami, he will fit in like a glove, with the wildcat formations and all the crazy stuff the Dolphins always do on offense.

I also like what Carolina have done. A young raw rookie QB's best friend are his TE's, and the Panthers have definitely added some impact players there. Ben Hartsock will be the reliable blocker, while having Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey will be catching a ton of balls from Cam Newton. I think if Newton can step up, Carolina can be a team that quickly turns it around, a la Miami and Atlanta a few years back. They did a great job, resigning their notable players in DeAngelo Williams and Chris Johnson. Also getting Steve Smith committed is also huge for Newtons development.

FOR A TEAM THAT WENT 2-14, CAM NEWTON HAS A LOT OF TALENT TO WORK WITH

Finally, I wanna touch on one of the under the radar moves which I think will end up having a huge impact. I really thought Mike Sims Walker got a raw deal in Jacksonville. I look for him and Bradford to have a very very solid season together in St. Louis. Sims Walker was a fantasy stud and surprise in 2009. Expectations were through the roof and the Jags passing game struggled mightily in 2010. I think he can have a major bounce back year with Bradford, in the Josh McDaniels offense.

That's it for now, I'm hoping for some/any news about my 49ers. Frustration is getting to an all time high. There is still time to salvage the offseason by making some possible key signings, like Olin Kreutz, Malcolm Floyd, Cromartie/Carlos Rogers, James Jones etc etc. Lets start moving forward in the Harbaalke era in San Francisco.

NFC West - Free Agent Moves That Need to Happen

As I wrote in one of my previous posts, the NFC West is unquestionably the worst division in football. All 4 of the teams in this division have a lot of work to do. Here are some free agent additions I think each of the teams should make. These additions should be taken in conjunction with the trades that I wrote about before. Hence, the following trades have occurred:
Arizona gets Carson Palmer, Seattle gets Kevin Kolb and the one change I wanted to make was St. Louis trades for Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers instead of Chad OchoCinco. Smith has already stated he wants out, and while Smith is not drama free, he won't be as much a distraction as 85 and would provide a receiver that would fit perfectly with Sam Bradford. Also will add a trade the 49ers could explore in addition to a Free Agent signing.

 

The NFC West was a combined 25-39 last season, with 7-9 Seattle winning the division

Arizona Cardinals
Barrett Ruud - Middle Line Backer
The Cardinals added a franchise QB in Carson Palmer in my projected trades that need to happen. That along with the addition of RB Ryan Williams in the draft should go a long way to improving the offense. Now lets take a look at the defense. The Cardinals have one of the more talented secondaries in the NFL, and pro-bowl caliber lineman in Darnell Dockett. While Dockett is a vocal leader, they really need a strong presence in the Middle of the defense. With the departure of Karlos Dansby, there was a clear lack of talent at the linebacker position. Ruud, in my opinion, is perfectly suited to play in this defense, he racks up tackles and can make plays with INT's. One of the more underrated players in the NFL and could vault the Cardinals defense in to one of the better ones in the NFC. With adding Palmer and Ruud, the Cardinals would be a perfect candidate for bounce back team of the year. Something I also touched on in a previous post.


San Francisco 49ers
Jonathan Joseph - Corner Back
In the draft, the 49ers were hoping and praying that someway, somehow, LSU CB Patrick Peterson would fall to them at 7. This was not to be as the Cardinals took Peterson with the 5th overall pick. The 49ers did select talented sack artist in Aldon Smith. Now what the 49ers need is a top end CB. While the only 2 true shutdown CB's in the NFL are Darrelle Revis and Nnamdi Asomugha, Joseph would be an excellent addition to the 49ers defense. Joseph gets overlooked playing for the Bengals and playing beside Leon Hall, but he is one of the better CB's that doesn't get talked about.
While the Pass Rush was a problem for the 49ers last season, their secondary was the major weakness of the defense. By adding Aldon Smith and Jonathan Joseph, the defense under new coordinator Vic Fangio would get a huge talent injection, to go along with other excellent players in Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Aubrayo Franklin (who the 49ers need to re-sign) and Takeo Spikes.

Jonathan Joseph would be the ideal consolation prize for the 49ers after missing out on Patrick Peterson in the draft

49ers trade 5th round pick to Tampa Bay Buccaneers for QB Josh Johnson
The reasoning behind this trade? 49ers HC Jim Harbaugh was Josh Johnson's college coach, and thus Johnson would be familiar with Harbaugh's offense. While I am not expecting Johnson to start, his impact would be more in helping the other QB's (Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith) in learning Harbaugh's offense. With the shortened offseason the 49ers QB's will need all the help they can get and having a guy in the locker room who spent years with Harbaugh would be invaluable. Not only this, but it was in Harbaugh's offense which put JJ in the position to be drafted where he was, and I think back in this offense he would make for a solid backup QB in the long term behind Kaepernick. Also acquiring JJ means no more David Carr which is always a good thing for any team.


Seattle Seahawks
Logan Mankins - Offensive Guard
It appears to me that Mankins is not committed to staying with the Patriots, it also looks obvious that he is after a big payday. Well it just so happens that Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen is one of the richest men in the World and when it comes to his Seahawks he is not afraid to spend money. Recently Seattle has invested high draft picks to shore up the Offensive Tackle positions (Russell Okung at LT and draftee James Carpenter at RT), but questions still remain in the interior of the O-Line. By adding Mankins, Seattle would be regaining a LG and LT combo with the potential to be as dominant as Steve Hutchinson and Walter Jones were for years up in the Pacific Northwest.
If we take my projected trades, Seattle would have added Kevin Kolb, who would immediately become the franchise QB. Not only would adding Mankins help Kolb in the passing game, but he would be a vital piece in establishing an effective run game. Seattle's biggest problem on offense in 2010 was consistency, at times look great, and at times look awful. Improving at the QB position and adding 2 major additions to the O-Line (Mankins and Carpenter) would go a long way to making the Seattle offense that much more consistent.


St. Louis Rams
Darren Sproles - Running Back/Kick Returner
The future in St. Louis is all about Sam Bradford and putting him in the best position to succeed. Trading for Steve Smith, gives Bradford a legit pass catcher and by adding Sproles, the Rams would get a change of pace back who would compliment Steven Jackson perfectly. Sproles is a home run hitter in the run game, while Jackson is more of a bruiser who excels at pounding the defense for gains of 5-10 yards. Sproles will also be a huge help in the return game, putting Bradford and the Rams offense in better field position consistently.

The NFC West has essentially been the laughing stock of the NFL the last few years, highlighted last year by the winner having a pathetic 7-9 record. The first time ever a division winner having a losing record. I believe that with the trades and free agent signings made, that would go a long way to improving this division and bringing it back to respectable.

From Worst to First - NFL Edition

The great thing about the NFL is how a team can go from bottom 5 to playoff contender in 1 season. Recent examples of this include: Miami going from 1-15 with Cam Cameron at HC to 11-5 and winning the division the very next year with Tony Sparano, also the Buccaneers having the 3rd overall pick in the 2010 draft to going 10-6 later that year and just missing out on getting a playoff spot.

So lets turn our attention to which team is most likely to be the next example of this, I had planned to do both an NFC and AFC example, but the top teams in the AFC are just too good for this to happen. Denver, Tennessee and Cincinnati are going through Head Coaching and/or QB changes, with a shortened offseason that is just a recipe for disaster. While Buffalo are just simply not good enough to compete with the likes of the Patriots and Jets.

I think the most likely team to go from bottom of the division to the top is the Arizona Cardinals. I fully expect them to trade for a QB (Palmer, Kolb or Orton) and lets face it, the NFC West is easily the worst division in football.
The 49ers are definitely in a transition year, new coach (LOVE the Jim Harbaugh hiring by my Niners) and new QB. The 49ers are gonna be good........but in 2012. The Seahawks had by far the worst draft of all the NFC West teams. I don't expect any impact players this year, from their draft class and Matt Hasselbeck is another year older and even more likely to get hurt. I see them being a 7-9 team again. The Rams are interesting, they got their franchise QB in Sam Bradford, however they are changing offensive systems and we all know about the sophomore slump. The Rams are not sneaking up on anyone this year like they did last season.

              The Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald would thrive again with a new QB

Now back to the Cardinals and why they should be better (Assuming they do trade to acquire a QB). They could not possibly do worse at QB then they had last year. QB is by far the most important position in the game and any one of the three QB's mentioned would be a massive upgrade. They added maybe the best prospect in Patrick Peterson CB from LSU. Peterson, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Adrian Wilson and Kerry Rhodes headline an extremely talented secondary.
The Cardinals have a talented defense especially if they can add some pass rush help when ever Free Agency does start. Add that defense with impressive RB depth and huge obvious upgrade at QB and an easier schedule, as they play against the bottom teams from the NFC South (Panthers) and NFC North (Vikings).

The Seahawks and 49ers are a transition team this year and the Rams have sophomore slump written all over them. The Cardinals and Ken Whisenhunt are in win now mode, they will get a QB, and for a good bet, I suggest putting some money down on the Cards.

Just for fun, if I HAD to choose which AFC team was capable of doing this then I'd have to go with the Titans. I think they will also be another team acquiring a veteran QB. While Jake Locker has huge potential, he is very raw and will need at least a year on the bench. I think a guy like Kyle Orton would fit perfectly with them. Good defense, Excellent run game and improvement at the QB position with less off field drama. Sounds like the AFC version of the Cardinals, Jags and Texans are likely .500ish teams. Manning is coming off another neck surgery and he looked like his age a lot more than ever before.

             Jake Locker is the future for the Titans but he is just not ready yet.

San Francisco Giants Update
Would like to finish off by saying that was a huge win for the San Francisco Giants today, and to send my congratulations to the local product Brandon Crawford from Mountain View, CA. His first career hit was a Grand Slam, which ended up being the winning hit as Tim Lincecum earned his 5th win of the season while the Giants took the series opener 5-4. Big come from behind win, to not only end the 3 game skid but maybe help mend the emotions and raise the spirits of Giants players, coaches and fans after the Buster Posey incident. Look forward to seeing a whole lot more of Crawford and also how prized prospect Brandon Belt will do in his return to the Majors. Tomorrow we have the matchup of:
Jonathan Sanchez (3-3, 3.47 ERA) vs Randy Wolf (4-4, 3.70 ERA) at 1:10PM Pacific Time.